I joined the staff of Forbes in 2013, covering leadership topics and researching the world’s wealthiest individuals for the Forbes 400 and World’s Billionaires lists before taking over the Careers beat. Previously, I worked as a stringer for the Chicago Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune, covering the small towns of northern Illinois as they weathered the municipal impact of the recession. I studied English and American Studies at Boston College and completed a master’s in Business and Economic Reporting at NYU, during which time I wrote for Inc.com. Got a tip? Email me at kdill@forbes.com.

The Most Competitive Metros In America

One of the many shifts in the post-recession economy has been increased competition in certain metros. In recent years, many cities and their surrounding areas have captured a greater number of the overall jobs available across the country.

To determine which metropolitan areas are “getting a bigger piece of the pie,” CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists measured total job growth in each of the 50 most populous metros in the U.S., between 2010 and 2013. Actual job growth was then compared to expected job growth for that metro, based on national job growth data over the same period of time. The resulting figure demonstrates to what extent a metro is “exceeding, matching, or falling behind national job growth trends because of something unique to that metro’s regional economy.”

Data is culled from Economic Modeling Specialists’ labor market database, which draws on information from more than 90 national and state employment resources, as well as detailed information on the self-employed.

Topping the list of the most competitive metropolitan areas is Houston, Texas. Between 2010 and 2013 U.S. employment grew 4%. Using that figure, Houston would be expected to add 142,378 jobs during that period. In reality, the city added 250,607 jobs, more than any other city, far exceeding the expected growth.

“The metros producing the strongest competitive effect are often heavily dominated by specialized technical industries with well-established local supply chains,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “The overall job growth in these markets is not primarily a product of national economic trends, but rather distinct factors in the local economy such as energy resources in Houston, technology hubs in Silicon Valley and Austin, or the motion picture industry in Los Angeles. Thirty-two of the top 50 metros have outperformed national employment growth post-recession which, in turn, can have a positive influence on other geographies.”

Notably absent from the list are a few major metros, namely New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Each city created upwards of 100,000 new jobs since 2010, but they also fell below national growth trends and saw particular industries take serious hits.

New York, in particular, lost more jobs than expected due to national trends affecting the finance, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Chicago saw stagnation in manufacturing job growth alongside significant losses among government, hospital, and insurance carrier employment. Philadelphia suffered greater-than-predicted losses in education, commercial banking, and manufacturing.

The Most Competitive Metros in America

No. 1 Houston TexasIndustries driving the local economy: Oil and gas extraction; support activities for mining, architectural, and engineering services; and education.

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